


I'll Catch You

by EmmaArthur (EchoBleu)



Series: The Lightwood Home for Queer Children [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Broken Bones, Discord: Hunter's Moon, Fluff, Hurt Alec Lightwood, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Magnus Bane, M/M, Prompt Fill, it's mostly fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28173966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoBleu/pseuds/EmmaArthur
Summary: Part 1 of the Tales of the Lightwood Home for Queer Children, managed by one Alec Lightwood. Alec breaks his leg renovating the new house.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: The Lightwood Home for Queer Children [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2063979
Comments: 15
Kudos: 73





	I'll Catch You

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote a prompt fill for the Hunter's Moon Discord Server and kinda fell in love with the random background story I made up for it, so I thought I'd start a collection of ficlets. I don't have any specific plans yet so tags will be added as needed.
> 
> The prompt for this chapter was "Just jump, I'll catch you".

“You said, ‘just jump and I’ll catch you’,” Alec grumbled, looking forlornly down at his leg, now adorned with a black cast. He hopped off the exam table onto his good foot and took the crutches that the cast technician was handing him.

Magnus, who had only just been let in to be with him after sitting in the ER’s waiting room for three hours, grabbed Alec’s  jacket and his discarded shoe. “I was going to!” he swore. “You jumped too fast!”

“You were right there!” Alec situated himself on the crutches and took an experimental step forward. He had enough painkillers in his system that his broken leg didn’t hurt too much, but it was also enough to make him a little unsteady. He took another step, gaining confidence.

“You’re heavier than I expected!” Magnus protested.

Alec huffed and hopped out of the room slowly, careful not to put his foot on the ground. He still had paperwork to do and a prescription to grab, even though all he wanted to do was go home and forget about today. Not that he’d be able to forget for the next six weeks or so  that he’d  spend in the cast.  This was going to get old fast.

M agnus made him sit down as he grabbed the required discharge paperwork from the front desk, and Alec didn’t protest. The painkillers weren’t enough to totally mask the ache in his leg, or the myriad bruises that were forming on his side where he’d fallen. The tree branch hadn’t even been that high, but he’d really expected Magnus to catch him and he’d met the ground at full speed instead.

What really annoyed Alec the most is that him being out of commission would put the renovations on the house off for weeks. He was doing everything himself with Jace and Magnus’ occasional help, on whatever days off each of them had, and it had already been six months. He wanted the house ready before Christmas, and now it probably wouldn’t be done until February at least.

Magnus was uncharacteristically quiet as he slowly led Alec out to the parking lot. He opened the passenger door and hitched the seat as far back as it would go, so that Alec could stretch his leg out. “Thanks,” Alec gave him a small smile, carefully lowering himself into the car. He tossed his crutches into the back.

Magnus didn’t respond and went over to the driver’s side, slipping in without a word. He didn’t start the car right away, laying his hands on the steering wheel instead.

Alec frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m really sorry for not catching you,” Magnus said quietly, without looking at him.

O h. Magnus actually blamed himself. “It’s not your fault,” Alec said, reaching out to take his hand. Magnus was so tense that he had to peel it away from the wheel.

“It is! Now you’re hurt and you’re in pain and the kids won’t have a house for longer and it’s all because of me!”

“Magnus, look at me,” Alec said.

It took nearly a full minute for Magnus to obey. Alec kept rubbing circles into his palm, trying to get him to relax.

“The kids are fine, they can stay in the old place for an extra couple months.” They’d been renovating a house just outside of the city for a group home for queer teenagers who had been chased out by their parents, whose management Alec had taken over last year. Magnus’ job didn’t let him spend much time on it, especially as the two of them were also in the process of adopting a baby.

Magnus just sighed, his eyes set on Alec’s extended leg.

“It’s okay, it’s just a broken leg. It will heal just fine. And it’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have jumped from that high, whether you were there or not.”

Magnus bit his lip, sudden tears coming to his eyes. “When you cried out, I—for a moment there, I was really scared.”

Alec pulled him closer, despite their awkward position. “Me too. But I’m fine. I promise. You’ll just have to carry things around for me for a while. And maybe come hold me up in the shower.”

Magnus made an exaggerated grimace. “Now what would I possibly want to do that for?”

“Hey, I broke my leg because of you, the least you can do is help me around!”

Magnus faltered again, and Alec figured jokes like that would hit a raw nerve for a while. “It  really  wasn’t your fault, okay?” he tried to reassure him. “It just happened.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t be bothering you with my insecurities when you’re the one who’s injured,” Magnus sighed.

“Magnus, I don’t blame you,” Alec said, pulling him in for a kiss. “I love you. Besides, it was all Jace’s fault anyway. He was supposed to take care of the tree ages ago.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos make my day! I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'm also on [Tumblr](https://emma-arthur.tumblr.com/) if you want to chat.


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